BANGKOK, Oct 20 (bernama) -- Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said Thursday his country's relationship with Malaysia is still good despite some verbal exchanges between leaders of the two nations over the problem in the violence-stricken south.
Thaksin said the ongoing spat, including between the foreign ministers of the two countries, was normal between any close neighbours and could be solved amicably.
In fact, he said, he had no problem with his Malaysian counterpart, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, and was looking forward to meeting him during the Apec Summit in Busan, South Korea, next month.
"The Apec Summit will provide me an opportunity to meet Abdullah. We have been good friends since we were foreign ministers...we just need to say two words to end everything (diplomatic problem)," he said at his weekly "Meet the Press" session at the Government House here.
He admitted that the issue of the 131 Thai Muslims from Narathiwat province in the south who fled to Kelantan last August had affected the close relationship between the two nations but was confident that it could be solved with ongoing cooperation between officials of both sides.
Director-General of Directorate of the Joint Intelligent, Supreme Command, Lieutenant General Chayasit Linthong will lead a team of Thai government and religious officials to meet the 131 refugees from Oct 24 to 26 while Deputy Prime Minister Chidchai Wannasathit will meet his counterpart, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, in Putrajaya next week.
During the one-hour conference carried live by Thai television stations, Thaksin was bombarded with a host of questions related to the south and the country's relationship with Malaysia.
In recent days, there appeared to be a diplomatic row between the two countries over the refugees' status, with Foreign Minister Kantathi Suphamongkhon telling his Malaysian counterpart, Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar, to stop using words like "mature" and human rights issue in Thailand when dealing with the problem.
Thaksin also said that he had given the names of Thai Muslim separatists who were believed to be hiding in Malaysia during his previous visit to Malaysia, adding that officials on the ground were in constant contact to pursue the matter.
Asked about the threat by some non-governmental organisations to boycott Thai products in Malaysia, Thaksin said he was not perturbed and was confident that it would not affect the Thai economy.
He also said that former Thai premier Anand Panyarachun, who is chairman of the National Reconciliation Commission formed earlier this year to address the southern problem, had briefed him on his recent meeting with Abdullah and former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
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